Dia Mirza receives criticism for claiming dams were responsible for Uttarakhand tragedy

Mumbai: After hearing the devastating news of a glacier burst in Uttarakhand, many celebrities took to their social media to express their solidarity with victims. Actress Dia Mirza, who is also a climate change activist, too tweeted that the disaster was caused by the building of ‘too many dams in the Himalayas’.

Dia Mirza posted a series of tweets on her Twitter timeline in which she wrote, “Building too many dams in the Himalayas has lead to this.”

“What is the connection with what is happening in #Uttrakhand right now and cutting trees (deforestation), cutting into our mountains, building dams combined with climate change? – Innocent , unsuspecting people get hurt,” Dia wrote in another tweet.

However, her point of view did not go well with many on Twitter. Netizens started critizing her adding that the actress is mixing up two different things. Many even asked her if she is an agricultural activist or climate change activist.

“Film industry is the largest environment pollutant. The unnecessarily extravagance, consumerism, expensive and fuel guzzling cars, number of bungalows per person, lavish parties with opulence and ostentatious display of wealth……. BIGGEST DAMAGING FACTOR OF EARTH. Speak up,” wrote one user.

Explaining the importance of dams, another user wrote, “It has happened before also. But the prime reason is global warming, not building of dams and infrastructure. In fact, the dams will check the speed of down coming water, distributing through network of canals downstream, thus limiting the disaster downstream.”

Also Read: Uttarakhand glacier burst: Sonu Sood, Mahesh Babu & others send prayers for victims

“When you have no idea, why can’t you just shut up. It’s because of reservoirs right now, the speed of water has toned down. So at least do some study or talk to local people,” wrote the third one.

Check out how netizens reacted:

In an unfortunate incident on Sunday, a glacier burst in Joshimath of Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district triggered massive flood in the Dhauli Ganga river in the region. Reportedly, over 150 people are feared missing after the glacier broke and crashed into a hydroelectric dam. Many villages were evacuated and people were taken to safer areas.